MENA Women’s & Girls’ Demands for COP28 and Beyond

For the second consecutive year, the United Nations climate negotiations, known as COP28, will be hosted in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Capitalizing on the momentum in the region after COP27 in Egypt and with COP28 in Dubai, UAE this year, MENA feminists, gender and climate advocates are using this pivotal movement moment to amplify local and regional voices and drive meaningful climate action.

The MENA Feminist Taskforce within the Women & Gender Constituency has outlined six priority areas for climate action in the region, encompassing 28 specific demands. These demands, which have been developed collaboratively and endorsed by 180 feminists and organizations at the gender and climate nexus from the region, reflect the challenges, priorities, and needs of women and girls at this intersection. Read an overview (English only) of the demands here.

And read the full demands document:

In English  |  بالعربية  |  En français (coming soon)

The six priority areas include:

1. Inclusive Climate Engagement and Ambition: Meaningful inclusion and engagement of women, youth, and marginalized communities in national and UNFCCC negotiation, decision-making, and policy processes.
2. Climate Finance: Just, rights-based, gender-responsive, flexible, affordable, and localized climate finance.
3. Conflict-Affected Countries, Militarization, and Peacebuilding: Conflict-sensitive and gender-transformative approach to climate action.
4. Climate Adaptation, Resilience, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Preparedness (DRRP): Strong investment in and prioritization of gender-transformative and localized approaches to climate adaptation, resilience, and DRRP.
5. Climate Education, Capacity-Strengthening, and Knowledge Transfer: Investment in accessible, high quality education systems that are gender-transformative and integrate climate change and environment.
6. Green Economy, Just Energy Transition, and Fossil Fuels Phase-Out: Just, equitable, and inclusive transition to renewable energy with commitment to fossil fuel phase-out and investment in the development of a circular, green economy based on socio-economic rights and justice.

Take Action to support the MENA Taskforce:

Watch and share this video!

Sample post:

More than 180 MENA feminists & organizations working towards #GenderEquality and #FeministClimateJustice have outlined 6 priority areas for #ClimateAction in the region, encompassing 28 specific demands.

See what they have to say: https://bit.ly/MENACOP28

Graphic: English | Arabic

For journalists: speak with a member of the WGC MENA Taskforce! ( For media requests, contact Zukiswa White: zukiswa@womengenderclimate.org.)

About the MENA Taskforce:

The MENA Feminist Taskforce is a group of women’s rights, feminist, and climate advocates and change-agents. The Taskforce serves as a bridge between local and regional groups and the international community, ensuring their needs, demands, and visions of MENA women and girls are centered in all national, regional, and global climate processes and decisions. The MENA Feminist Taskforce is the result of ongoing collective organizing throughout this past year, including active mobilization and amplification of women’s leadership in international spaces such as SB58, the 2nd International Climate Justice Camp, and MENA Climate Week 2023. This movement mobilization has culminated in a set of demands to deliver meaningfully on climate action in the region and beyond.

Inclusivity is a pillar of the Taskforce and the WGC, and these demands are a reflection of a collaborative process to ensure accurate representation and capture of the region. They have been endorsed and identified by almost 180 feminists from across the Middle East and North Africa.